Senate passes Social Security Fairness Act, sends WEP/GPO repeal to the White House

WASHINGTON - Dec. 21, 2024 - PRLog -- Contact:  AARO Office
Email:     contact@aaro.org

Senate passes Social Security Fairness Act, sends WEP/GPO repeal to the White House

PARIS, FRANCE:  The Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO) reports that, by a vote of 76 to 20, the U.S. Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) - bipartisan legislation to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). The Senate passage came after the House overwhelmingly passed the bill on November 12^th.

AARO has advocated for the repeal of WEP for decades and thanks its members and partners in helping achieve this historic milestone.

The Social Security Fairness Act, co-authored by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and introduced in March 2023, will repeal the two federal policies - the WEP and the GPO - that reduce payments to millions of retirees and beneficiaries. WEP affects not only state-side Americans but also Americans overseas whose foreign pension benefits often reduce their Social Security retirement benefits.

The bill is now on its way to President Biden for final signature to become federal law. The President is expected to approve the measure.

Doris Speer, President of AARO, said "AARO applauds the great efforts made by Senator Schumer and other Senators these past weeks to get this repeal over the finish line. AARO has worked with many groups and individuals advocating tirelessly for this repeal, and we thank them all.  This is a great victory for Americans overseas whose foreign pensions will no longer reduce their Social Security benefits, eliminating this worry as they move towards retirement."

About AARO: The Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO), founded in 1973 and headquartered in Paris, is a global, non-partisan non-profit association with members in over 40 countries. AARO builds awareness in the U.S. of the issues affecting Americans overseas and the inequities regarding their rights and seeks fair treatment by the U.S. government for Americans abroad. AARO also informs its members of the issues affecting them and of their rights and responsibilities as American citizens. For more information, please email us at contact@aaro.org   https://aaro.org/